Lost Fic: Find a Map and Draw a Straight Line (3/4) (Juliet)

[ozmissage]

Title: Find a Map and Draw a Straight Line (3/4)
Characters: Juliet, Desmond; ensemble (Multiple Pairings, ultimately Juliet/Sawyer)
Rating: R
Words: 4,985
Spoilers/Warnings: Spoilers through “LA X”. This fic features multiple pairings for both Juliet and Desmond, so read at your own discretion.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Title from “Set the Fire to the Third Bar” by Snow Patrol.
Summary: Juliet always thought be careful what you wish for was nothing more than a stupid cliché. Turns out she was wrong. This is the part where Juliet admits her mistakes and realizes she’s probably only going to make more of them.

Part One ** Part Two

 

Juliet feels like she has just fallen back to sleep when the phone rings. It’s Libby and she sounds terrified.

“Slow down,” Juliet says, but Libby’s inconsolable.

“It won’t stop…it just keeps getting worse. There’s so much blood…”

“We’ll be right there.”

Juliet hangs up and reaches for her jeans; Kevin sits up slowly, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

“Something happen?” he asks.

“It’s Desmond. He can’t stop flashing,” Juliet says.

Kevin blinks trying to process what she’s saying. Juliet’s already tugging on her sneakers.

“Kevin, we have to move!”

He nods and quickly hops out of bed.

“Alright, just let me find my pants.”

***

“I don’t want to go to school, Mum, my throat is killing me,” Desmond says absently.

Libby lets out a ragged breathe and turns to Juliet.

“He’s been like this for hours. I called a doctor, but he said there was nothing he could do,” her voice cracks and Juliet places a hand on her shoulder. Libby stands up slowly and gives Juliet her spot next to Desmond on the bed.

 Juliet settles next to him and smoothes the hair away from his forehead, dabs at the fresh stream of blood pouring from his nose with a wet cloth.

“Hey, Desmond. I heard you’re not feeling so well,” she says softly.

He sits up and begins to laugh manically. The sound cuts straight through Juliet right down to her bone. He’s slipping away, she can see it. She should have found him sooner, shouldn’t have wasted so much time pretending what was happening to her was just in her head.

“It’s a bloody snow globe,” he chokes out between giggles.

The laughter quickly dies on his lips and he blinks once then falls back onto the bed. He looks up at Juliet and she knows he’s not seeing her, his eyes are glassy and far away.

“Libby, did you get to the part where he asks for more gruel? That’s my favorite part,” he says.

Juliet squeezes his hand, trying desperately to bring him back.

“Desmond? Can you hear me? It’s Juliet, I need you to focus. Can you do that for me?” Juliet pleads.

“I love you, Penny…”

Juliet bites her lip to keep herself from crying. He’s dying, just like Charlotte, slipping away piece by piece. There are tears streaming down his face and she wonders where he is right now.

“Why can’t you help him?” Libby asks. There’s anger humming in her voice, her eyes are red from crying, her hands shaking. “You said you could help him.”

Juliet places a hand on Desmond’s stomach and stares into his eyes. They’re blank, so empty in fact that if she couldn’t feel the steady rise of his chest, she would be sure he was already dead.

“I don’t know how to stop this,” Juliet says finally. “I’m sorry…there’s nothing I can do.”

She moves to get up, but Desmond’s hand closes around her wrist.

“What did one snowman say to the other?” he asks, before Juliet can answer he turns his head so that he can see Libby. “It was a beautiful boat.”

And then he’s gone.

“Desmond?” Juliet asks. There’s no response, Libby sinks onto the bed next to her husband and gently shakes him. He doesn’t blink or move and Juliet feels like the whole world just shrank to the size of this room, she can’t breathe, can’t speak. She’s tired of grief and death and she wants nothing more in this moment than to trade places with Desmond Hume. To close her eyes and never wake up if it means she never has to lose another damn thing in this life.

Juliet gets up slowly, wiping at the tears sliding down her cheeks. Kevin opens his arms to her without a word and she doesn’t know what else to do but let him hold her. Desmond is dead. And as far as she can tell, it’s her fault.

“I want you out,” Libby says quietly, not bothering to turn and look at them. “I want you out of my house right now, or I’ll…”

Desmond sits up suddenly, gasping for air, his entire body trembling. Libby reaches for him, her hands framing his face.

“Des?” she chokes out.

Desmond jerks away from her as if her touch is too much to bear and buries his face in his shaking hands. He looks up, his eyes searching the room for Juliet. The moment she sees the grief on his face she knows what just happened to him and her heart sinks.

Juliet pulls away from Kevin, walks over to Desmond and places a hand on his shoulder. He doesn’t look up.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers.

“Sorry for what?” Libby asks. She looks so happy as if she’s been given a reprieve, Juliet turns away from her. She doesn’t want to be the one to tell her.

Desmond laughs ruefully, his voice already breaking.

“I just died,” he says.  

Juliet sees Libby and Kevin glance at each other, their confusion apparent. They don’t understand, Juliet barely does; all she knows for sure is that it happened to her to. She sits on the bed next to Desmond and pulls him against her chest. He resists at first, refusing to break, but then she hears him take a shuddering breath and she knows it’s about to hit him.

He starts to sob and she holds him, rocking back and forth, not saying anything at all.

***

Juliet and Kevin wait outside, sitting together on the cold front stoop of the Hume house. They’re waiting for Desmond. Juliet can hear Libby’s voice filtering outside from the living room. She’s still crying. She can hear Desmond too; his voice is low and steady now. He’s telling her goodbye.

“How did you know what happened to him?” Kevin asks.

Juliet shrugs, remembering that day on the street corner. How dazed she felt, how lost. She didn’t understand at the time, but that must have been the beginning.

“Because it happened to me.”

Kevin stands up, shaking his head in disbelief.

“No. That would mean…”

Juliet winces. She should have connected the dots, should have realized why this life felt like an echo.

“That she died. Your Juliet. That’s why this felt so wrong. Because this really never was my life.”

“Oh God,” Kevin murmurs. A hollowness seems to settle over him, an understanding---she really isn’t his. Never was.

“I’m sorry, we must have switched. When I hit the bomb…I was flashing just like Desmond. I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” Kevin cuts her off.

She watches him, his feet kicking at the snow covering the walkway. She wonders how a person is supposed to mourn for someone standing right in front of them. It feels likes she’s an intruder here, in Kevin’s life, in this world.

 She turns away and stares out at the house next door. There are children playing in the snow. It’s just a normal day for them. Juliet can’t remember what normal means anymore.

The door opens behind her and Desmond emerges tying a scarf around his neck, not a single bag in his hand.

“Let’s go,” he says. The determination in his voice is almost frightening.

“Where?” Juliet asks carefully.

“To Oxford, we’re going to find Daniel.”

Juliet glances back at the house.

“What about Libby?”

Desmond shakes his head. “There’s nothing I can do for her.”

“But…”

Desmond turns on her angrily.

“That woman is not my wife. My wife just watched me die while our son was playing in the other room. This world is not real, sister. It’s nothing more than make believe and I will rip it apart with my bare hands to get back to Penny if I have to. Now are you with me or not?”

Juliet gives him a quick nod and starts down the walk, Kevin falling in line behind her, Desmond in front. She watches him leave his yard without so much as a glance back. She tries not to imagine Libby inside waiting for a husband that will never return or Rachel back in Miami whose sister won’t be coming home.

This would be so much easier if she thought Desmond was right, that this world was just pretend, that it would disappear the moment they leave. But she saw Libby’s face, she sees Kevin’s now and they’re as real as anyone else. When she and Desmond leave they won’t have to look back, but that doesn’t mean these people aren’t going to have to work like hell to move on without them.

***

There is no Daniel Faraday at Oxford, there never was. Two days of searching later and Juliet is beginning to wonder if there was ever a Daniel Faraday in this world at all, but Desmond is determined to find him no matter how much evidence seems to suggest they’re looking in the wrong place.

He believes that Daniel is their only hope and Desmond is not a man willing to give up hope. Neither is Juliet, not when she keeps having dreams of James always bloody, always leaving. She’s not sure why but she has this feeling that if they don’t get back soon they never will. Or worse, they’ll get back too late (that’s not going to happen, she promises herself.)

They hunch their shoulders against the wind as they walk down one more drafty Oxford corridor. Kevin is back at the hotel, apparently tired of searching for a man he never met, a man that might very well not exist. He’s been distant ever since they left London and Juliet keeps catching him watching her out of the corner of his eye as if he’s trying to see the difference, the exact point where the woman he knew ends and this strange, mess of a person begins.

Desmond stops walking suddenly and leans heavily against the wall. They were heading for yet another professor’s office, Desmond is convinced they’re all lying (happened before, he insists.)

“Do you get the feeling we’re on a wild goose chase, sister?”

She shivers, smiles uncertainly. He’s so unpredictable right now, his moods swinging from happy to sad to desperate in a flash. She doesn’t want to say the wrong thing. She knows if he loses hope she won’t be far behind.

“Maybe we’re just looking in the wrong place,” she offers.

He shakes his head and leans forward resting his hands on his knees. Juliet places a hand on his back.

“We don’t have to find him. There has to be another way.”

Desmond straightens up and walks over to the window and stares out at the park area below. Over his shoulder, Juliet can see students milling around, chatting with one another.

“Oh my…” Desmond’s voice trails off. He bolts down the hallway without another word. Juliet is so surprised it takes her a moment to react, but then she’s running behind him narrowly missing a young man teetering under the weight of his over-sized backpack. She loses sight of him and nearly panics, but then she spots him standing on the lawn watching as a woman with snow white hair approaches them, a thin smile on her old, cracked lips.

Juliet glances at Desmond, he looks angry and his hand has bawled into a fist at his side.

“Desmond?” Juliet asks, confused.

He shakes his head so subtly, Juliet almost misses it.

“I know her,” Desmond hisses.

The woman reaches them and smiles politely as she dabs at the sweat beading on her forehead.

“That’s quite a hike. I’m sorry it took me so long, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

“Waiting? We weren’t waiting for you,” Desmond says evenly.

The woman laughs, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Of course you were. We always meet here. I just hope you two have the good sense to make this time the last. I dare say I’ve had enough of this place.”

Desmond crosses his arms; he doesn’t look nearly as confused as Juliet feels.

“Who are you?” Juliet asks clearly puzzled.

“She’s Eloise Hawking, Daniel’s mother, and the bloody woman who keeps trying to ruin my life,” Desmond snarls.

“That’s no way to speak to the person who’s going to help the two of you out of this horrible mess you’ve created. Now, would you like me to take you to see my son or would you prefer to stand here in the snow, chatting all day?”

***

They follow Eloise back to her flat. It’s not far from the campus, but the walk leaves them all sweaty and clammy from slogging through the snow. Desmond seems wary about going anywhere with Eloise and Juliet knows it was only the promise of Daniel that kept him from telling the woman to go to hell.

She’s mostly just curious. Eloise seems so certain that she knows them, that she’s done all of this before. Something about the woman makes the hairs on the back of Juliet’s arm stand on end. She feels close to something, like she’s standing at the edge of a well peering in and even if she finds this woman unnerving she’s can’t imagine not finding out what’s at the bottom.

Eloise pauses outside of the door and turns to Desmond and Juliet, her hand resting on the knob.

“I feel I should warn you both, my son will not be as you remember him. He agitates easily, he’s still bright as he ever was but he’s like a child as well and sometimes he’s difficult to understand. Please try not to alarm him.”

Juliet and Desmond exchange a quick glance.

“What happened to him?” Juliet asks.

Eloise smiles faintly. “You my dear.”

With that she opens the door to her tiny flat and ushers them both inside.

***

Daniel is sitting on the floor, papers spread around his feet. Every few seconds he’ll lean in to make a note on one scrap or another, muttering to himself all the while. From behind, Juliet can tell his black hair is a mess, probably from the way he constantly runs his hands through it, mussing it up. He seems to be in perpetual motion, always moving, always thinking (but then that’s nothing new, Juliet thinks.)

He doesn’t look up when they come in. Eloise crosses the length of the room carefully stepping over her son’s work and kneels down at his side.

“Daniel, you have guests,” she says gently.

Daniel looks up, his brow furrowed as if his mother just disrupted a very important train of thought. He frowns at her, tilting his head ever so slightly to one side.

“Now…but I have work, there’s no time for talking,” he mutters absently. Eloise grips Daniel’s arm and carefully turns him towards Desmond and Juliet. Juliet smiles weakly at him.

“Hi Dan,” she says.

He scurries to his feet, his entire demeanor changing. There’s a hint of panic in his eyes as he approaches them, he almost seems alarmed to see them standing in front of him.

“You’re not supposed to be here. Dead means dead, the body decomposes, the parts break down…that’s the natural order of things. We should be food. We’re breaking the rules, we’re anomalies disrupting the flow…it’s going the wrong way,” he says desperately.

Desmond reaches for his arm and Dan shrinks away from his touch.

“It’s okay; I’m not going to hurt you. Do you remember me, brother?”

Daniel nods absently, dropping to the floor, searching through his papers. After a moment he sits back on his heels and reads from the sheet in front of him.

“Desmond Hume. Travels through time, but just his consciousness…time and space, he doesn’t know that part. He’s unique, terribly, importantly unique. I know him, but we’ll never meet…not here, not this time. He’s the constant,” Daniel turns to Juliet, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “You’re the variable.”

Juliet crouches next to him taking extra care to keep her distance. Seeing him like this, frail and broken, so different than the young man she knew is difficult. Eloise’s words keep echoing through her mind. This could very well be her fault too.

“What does that mean?” she asks. Daniel is already lost in his work again and she hesitates before reaching out to him, her fingers barely grazing his arm. “Dan?”

He moves towards her and she can see tears glistening in his eyes, he leans in so that he can whisper in her ear. His voice is quick and she has to force herself to concentrate just to keep up.

“A variable: unpredictable, unknowable, not guided by a higher force---you make choices, the choices effect the stream, cause the ripples. It tries to manipulate, but you can’t trust your eyes. When the storm comes…you have to go through. Understand? That’s important… you have the map…don’t forget the map…and please, please don’t let her go back.”

His voice cracks and Juliet turns to face him and for moment it’s just Daniel staring back at her, completely lucid. She cups the side of his face in her hand, and his bottom lip begins to tremble.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “It was a bad plan.”

She shakes her head. “It worked.”

“Whatever happened, happened…this is just another part of the same story. You can’t save him, you’re not supposed to,” he says.

The room seems to go cold. Daniel has already returned to his notes.

“Who?” she asks. “Who can’t I save, Daniel?”

He ignores her, continuing his work. Eloise places a hand lightly on Juliet’s back and motions for her to get up. She feels shaky suddenly, lightheaded. Desmond helps her to her feet and leans in so that Eloise can’t hear what he says.

“We can’t trust her,” he says slowly. “And Daniel has lost his mind. Don’t let them get to you, sister. Keep your guard up.”

Juliet nods once and they join Eloise in her cramped kitchen. She’s busy filling her kettle with hot water. She pours tea into cups that seem far too delicate for such a bizarre situation. It occurs to Juliet that she’s growing weary of tea. She politely takes a sip, but Desmond pushes his away.

“Are you ready to give us some proper answers now?” he asks.

Eloise purses her lips and attempts to look affronted.

“I thought you wanted to speak to my son.”

“That was before we knew he was stark raving mad,” Desmond counters. “Why is it that every time something happens, every time I get away from that damn island you show up?”

Eloise looks thoughtful and takes a sip of her tea before carefully replacing it on her saucer, she keeps her hands wrapped around it and Juliet thinks she must be enjoying the warmth.

“I wouldn’t take it personally Desmond. This isn’t just about you, you know. I know my son said you’re terribly important and that’s true but you’re just a piece. One of three in fact.”

Juliet arches an eyebrow and Eloise smiles at her grimly.

“Who are the other two?” she asks.

“You, Ms. Burke and Mr. Jack Shepherd as well, I’m surprised he’s not here with you in fact, I suppose that means he’s gotten himself thrown into an institution again. That happens every now and then. No matter, he’ll be waiting for you on the island I’m sure.”

Desmond laughs angrily and folds his arms.

“And what exactly is so important about the three of us?”

“Besides the fact that you’re all terribly foolish, always making decisions with your heart and not with your head, consequences be damned?”

“Besides that yes.”

Eloise laughs softly, but when she speaks her voice is deadly serious, her eyes suddenly sharp.

“What transpires between the three of you on that island decides the fate of every one of us.”

“On the island…” Juliet trails off.

“In the world,” Eloise replies.

Desmond lets out an exasperated sigh. “And what transpires between us, then?”

“I wish I knew. All I know is that you’ve gotten it wrong the last seven times because we keep ending up right back here in my kitchen having this same conversation. The details change ever so slightly, as I said you’re missing your third this time. I suspect that whatever mistake you are making involves a difficult choice. Perhaps one, which you Ms. Burke are unable to make.”

“Why me?” Juliet asks.

“Because you’re the variable. The other two have roles to play, their choices are already made. You’re the proverbial wildcard my dear, and you keep making the same mistake.”

Juliet looks away from Eloise’s steady gaze and turns her attention to the tablecloth instead. All she wanted to do was to get back to the island, find James, and go home. This wasn’t supposed to be about destiny or saving the world. She’s not supposed to be important.

Beside her Desmond stands up and leans against the doorframe, and stares at Daniel in the living room still muttering to himself, lost in his own world.

“How do you know any of this? How could you remember?” he asks.

“Jacob enjoys bestowing gifts,” she replies ruefully. “This is mine.”

Desmond glances at Juliet, shaking his head in confusion. She just shrugs. She hasn’t heard that name in quite awhile. She certainly hasn’t missed it.

Eloise sighs and pushes her chair away from the table. She walks over to the counter and begins scribbling on a notepad after a moment she rips the page out and folds it and hands it to Juliet.

“This is Charlotte Staples Lewis’s address. I believe you know her. She was given private funding recently for an expedition to explore an island chain in the south pacific. Her team will be leaving in three days and the two of you need to be on that freighter. You shouldn’t have any trouble convincing her, given that you have something she wants.”

Juliet stares blankly at Eloise, but then she remembers what Daniel had said. She has a map; she saw it in her dream. The numbers were coordinates.

“As to how you get back? You’ll have to find a window, a tear in time that you can slip through. I trust that you’ll figure it out.”

Juliet and Desmond nod, each of them looking slightly dazed. Eloise ushers them to the door. Juliet pause and turns back to look at Daniel. Eloise shakes her head in warning.

“There’s only one thing you can do for him. Keep Ms. Lewis from joining you. My son is quite fond of her and he’s seen her die enough for one lifetime.”

“We could take him with us, maybe we could help him,” Juliet says.

Eloise softens slightly and she places a hand on Juliet’s cheek, Juliet thinks this is the only truly sincere expression she’s seen on this woman face since she met her.

“No matter what I do, my son will always die. I would prefer to keep him with me for as long as I can, if it’s all the same to you.”

Juliet nods and Eloise drops her hand.

“Good luck,” she says. “And I hope I don’t see you again.”

With that she shuts the door leaving Juliet and Desmond standing in the too warm hallway, with nothing but an address to prove that any of this odd afternoon had happened at all.

***

They agree to go back to the hotel before they set off to find Charlotte. It turns out she’s in Oxford herself, so they won’t have to go far. They’re both exhausted; Juliet can feel a headache starting at her temple. It’s no surprise even when she sleeps she gets little rest thanks to the constant barrage of dreams. Never the less they both need a break.

Sadly, Juliet realizes that won’t be happening the moment she opens the door to her room. Kevin is standing at the foot of the bed stuffing his belongings into his duffel bag.

“What’s going on?” Juliet asks.

Kevin turns and he smiles that easy smile he always gives her when he’s about to say something she won’t like.

“I bought a ticket back to Miami. My flight leaves in a couple of hours.”

Juliet feels a slow ache spreading across her chest. She knew they would have to part ways eventually, but there’s no part of her that’s ready to let him go right now.

“Were you just going to leave?”

He shakes his head, looking hurt. “Of course not, I wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye.”

She nods absently and sits on the edge of the bed; he stuffs another shirt in his bag before sinking down next to her.

“Did you find Daniel?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“And we found a way back. There’s a freighter shipping out in a couple of days and we plan on being on it.”

Kevin sighs and leans forward, his elbows propped on his knees, hands clasped together.

“That’s good.”

She stares at him in disbelief; his voice is so distant, so cut off. She knows he’s hurting a hell of a lot more than he’s letting on. He has to be because this is killing her.

“You really think so?”

He swallows and nods, but then he looks up and catches her eye and even though she knows in her heart that this life was never really hers, that this man was never her man---she also knows that doesn’t change the fact that she’s never really going to stop missing him and he’s never going to stop missing her.

“No I don’t, but it’s what you want so I’m happy for you. I’m sorry I sprung leaving on you like this…it’s just time for me to go.”

She sighs and bumps her shoulder against his.

“I know. I’m just not sure what I’m going to do without you.”

“You don’t need me, Juliet. You never needed me, I was just damn lucky that you let me walk beside you for awhile.”

“Do you remember when I told you I was doing this for me?”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t believe me.”

Kevin laughs softly and flashes her a sheepish smile. “Not really.”

She needs to explain this to him, needs for him to understand when he leaves this room that she’s not running away from him just to find another man. That it’s something more than that, something bigger.

“I’m going back for James, that’s true. I’m going back because I miss him every second of every day and that’s not getting better, it’s getting worse. I’m going back to see if maybe we have a chance to have a normal life together away from that island. But if we don’t? That’ll be okay too. Not at first, but eventually it will be.”

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before she continues. Kevin’s watching her closely, trying to figure out where she’s going with this.

“And I’m going back to find Rachel, my Rachel and let her know that I’m okay, that I’ve never stopped thinking about her and Julian. But mostly, I’m going back because I wasn’t finished.”

Kevin frowns in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I was on that island for six years and I did things that I never knew I was capable of doing, things I’m not proud of, but I survived…mostly. I was not supposed to die there. I was supposed to go home, to have a second chance, to have a real life. I don’t know if I deserve it, but I want it. It took dying for me to realize that, but now that I have? I can’t settle for anything less. So when I say I’m going back for me, I mean I’m going back for me. I want a chance to see if I can make a life for myself that’s at least half as good as this one.”

Kevin turns away and she can see that he’s trying not to cry.

“I was going to ask you…her, to marry me.”

“Kevin…”

He shrugs sadly, rubs his hands together.

“It’s okay. I know you said that you’re not the woman that I love, that she’s gone, but I think you’re wrong. I think this person sitting next me is still Juliet Burke. Beautiful and too damn smart for her own good and frustrating and insecure and…yeah, maybe you’re not exactly the same but that doesn’t matter, I still love you.”

She doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t think just reaches over and runs a hand across his cheek, gently pulling him towards her and she kisses him. It’s long and deep and he tastes good, sweet and familiar, his tongue slipping roughly against hers. They hold it as long as they can and even when their lips part, they stay close, foreheads pressed together until he wraps her in a hug.

“I want you to have a good life, okay? Can you promise me that?” she whispers.

He sniffles, pulls away from her and stands up, trying to keep himself from falling apart. She stands too, takes his hand and gives it a squeeze.

“I will if you will,” he says.

She grins, not bothering to wipe away her own tears.

“Deal,” she replies.

He’s halfway to the door when she stops him.

“Kevin, will you…”

He nods and finishes her sentence for her.

“I’ll look out for her, for both of them.”

“Thank you.”

He gives her one more smile and then he’s gone, the door clicking shut behind him. She curls into herself on the bed, pulls her knees to her chest and shuts her eyes. She knows James is waiting, that she’ll be back to him soon enough but right now, here in this hotel room without Kevin, without any link to this world she feels completely and utterly alone.

Comments

[aurilly.livejournal.com]

“Libby, did you get to the part where he asks for more gruel? That’s my favorite part,” he says.
Oh god, you're killing me here! The Dickens! The only thing worse than Juliet dying endlessly is Desmond dying. My baby! But you should have heard my sigh of relief when I realized that it was just the other Des dying and we at least still have one.

I love this, because I always LOVED the Desmond/Libby thing, so I adore that you have her as the "wrong" wife in the same way that the lovely Kevin is the "wrong" boyfriend. Poor things. The Juliet/Desmond BFF thing is phenomenal. This story is so great!

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

I love writing Des/Juliet as BFF's. I wish they had more screen time on the show because I get the feeling they would have had lots to talk about. ;)

[cantbesilent.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, you get mad points for writing this monster of a fic. I am totally in awe of how you created such a complex plot and are weaving it together. Really, I could never do that, I think it's incredible and I am so intrigued by this story! There are so many things that I love, but I really love that you have given Juliet a nice big plot, a chuck of the mythology, something the actual writers couldn't seem to do!

She’s not supposed to be important.

EEP! THE META! THE META IS INSANE AND BRILLIANT!

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you so much!

I've always shied away from writing anything with more than part because I found the concept terrifying, but seriously if I can do it I know you can because your fics absolutely blow me away.

Heh. I couldn't help but slip some meta in there. She should be important, darn it. :)

*uses semi-matching icon*

[elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com]

“Besides the fact that you’re all terribly foolish, always making decisions with your heart and not with your head, consequences be damned?”

Wow you had Mrs. Hawing utter something direct and true for once. And we add crazy Jack to the equation.

Poor Libby and Kevin and for now, Penny and Sawyer.

Another great chapter. I love the bits with broken Daniel, Hawking as the protective mother and the addition of Charlotte.

Great work. I'm on the edge of my seat.

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

Heh. I figure after seven iterations Eloise would be running out of ways to beat around the bush.;)

[valhalla37.livejournal.com]

**Okay, so clearly I got ahead of myself in the review of the other chapter, lol, since I read both and then went back and reviewed the other first, and this is clearly where Desmond "dies" and they figure that bit out ... ANYWAY. Still awesome, and apologies for being so confusing. ;P

BUT OH MY GOD THE DANIEL.

I love that Juliet and Desmond have teamed up to figure this out, and then Daniel (and Eloise!) get drawn in as well. His part in the story is just absolutely heartbreaking, like mind-blowingly good. To be honest, my heart just ached for everyone in this section -- Desmond who wants so badly to get back to his real family, Libby and her loss, Kevin coming to terms with what's happening, Juliet going through all these huge changes, Eloise with the burden of remembering (which is a phenomenal point, by the way) and Daniel. Ack, you seriously had me tearing up through that whole section, especially the moments between him and Juliet. Especially this --

"A variable: unpredictable, unknowable, not guided by a higher force---you make choices, the choices effect the stream, cause the ripples. It tries to manipulate, but you can’t trust your eyes. When the storm comes…you have to go through. Understand? That’s important… you have the map…don’t forget the map…and please, please don’t let her go back.”

His voice cracks and Juliet turns to face him and for moment it’s just Daniel staring back at her, completely lucid. She cups the side of his face in her hand, and his bottom lip begins to tremble.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “It was a bad plan.”

I AM OFFICIALLY DEAD FROM THE INCREDIBLE-NESS OF THIS FIC. And the stuff about Charlotte! I am beyond excited to see how you weave her into this, though it kills me to know that even though they're both still alive in this world -- and living in the same town -- they still won't ever have a chance.

Anyway, sorry for all the caplockiness, but this is seriously one of the best fics I've read lately, and I can't wait to see how you wrap it up. :D

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

You are never confusing, my friend and your comments mean the world to me. :)

I hated making Daniel so broken, but I just couldn't get this image of him with all of his papers spread on the floor out of my head. His conversation with Juliet is one of the first scenes I thought of when I started this monstrosity.

Thank you again, I'm so glad you're enjoying this!

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

, I’m surprised he’s not here with you in fact, I suppose that means he’s gotten himself thrown into an institution again. That happens every now and then.

I love this and I need Jack to show up :) By the way, are you sure this isn't a five part story?

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Heh. Thank you!

Jack is in the last part, I promise. It's four parts. For the sake of my sanity it has to be. ;)

[tia-no-one.livejournal.com]

Oh, WOW. You just broke my brain with awesomeness. This is seriously amazing -- I just read the entire thing. That they've been through this seven times; that Juliet and Desmond both "switched" with their other selves before they died; that Daniel will always die -- everything, omg, it's so amazing. I am so looking forward to part 4!

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

The last part will be up this week even if it kills me. Real life just decided that now would be a good time to get busy. ;)

[823freckles.livejournal.com]

*sobs* Finish it! FINISH it!

Anyways. Yeah, this was great. Very, very similar to an idea I had but never wrote, and I love reading it executed so well here. But I do hope you finish it soon.